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Gators' Driskel on mend after appendectomy

By Robbie Andreu | Halifax Media Group

Published: Monday, August 5, 2013 at 04:39 PM.

“I’m going to listen to our medical staff and let them guide me on how much he can do and how much work does he think he can handle,” Muschamp said. “Obviously, when he’s in the game, he’ll be with our first group. But I’ll listen to our medical staff as far as how much work they want him to partake in as we go through.

“They may walk in in three or four days and say he’s fine based on how he’s progressing right now. They may walk in and say it’s going to be six, seven more days. I don’t know. I’m just waiting on them to tell me.”

GAINESVILLE — Jeff Driskel woke up with a stomach ache Monday. No big deal. He ate, drank fluids and did what he thought he needed to do to make it go away. But it didn’t.

When it persisted Tuesday morning, his roommate, former Florida offensive lineman Tommy Jordan, told Driskel about a friend of his who had similar symptoms (pain in his right lower abdomen) and ended up having an appendectomy.

That’s when Driskel said he started to worry.

“I did some research and went from there,” Driskel said.

Driskel went to the coaches’ office, then was looked at by the trainers and examined by doctors. Later in the day, he underwent surgery for appendicitis.

“We’re lucky we found it early and acted on it,” Driskel said Thursday. “It could have been a lot worse.”

Driskel underwent surgery Tuesday and left UF Health Shands Hospital the same day. He was feeling good enough two days later to show up at the Gators’ preseason media day Thursday. Now it’s a matter of how quickly he heals — it could be days, a week, maybe even longer — before he returns to quarterback the offense in preseason camp.

“We did a lot of work in the summer. When I get back, I don’t think I will have missed much.”

Driskel said he anticipates returning as early as just a few days.

“I want to be back as soon as possible,” he said. “Whenever the training staff says I’m good to go, I’m good to go. I have full faith in them. They’re looking out for what’s best for me.

“It’s only going to be a couple of days, so I’m not worried about losing conditioning or anything like that. As soon as possible, I want to be back. It’s a matter of how my body recovers.”

While he’s recovering, junior Tyler Murphy will quarterback the No. 1 offense. UF coach Will Muschamp said Thursday that Murphy is the “clear-cut” No. 2 quarterback behind Driskel and will take over in Driskel’s absence.

Although Murphy has never thrown a pass in a game at the collegiate level, Driskel said he has confidence in his ability to manage the offense.

“He’s done a good job,” Driskel said. “He’s always known he’s one injury away from being the starting quarterback. He’s really attacked the offense like he should. He’s definitely going to get all the reps” with the No. 1 offense.

“There’s going to be pressure on him to make plays, and I think he can.”

While Murphy is leading the offense, Driskel will stay involved by watching practices and participating in meetings.

“(Driskel will) just be involved in the mental side of the game and see the defense and those sort of things and be able to get some mental reps through the film work and all of that,” Muschamp said. “It will be a day‑to‑day process; (that’s) basically how it was explained to me today. All they’re worried about are the sutures healing and that there’s no infection. Once you get past that stage, it’s all a pain‑tolerance issue. Luckily Jeff’s a tough guy, so it’s not going to be an issue for him.”

Driskel said he is not in much pain now and does not anticipate having to overcome any mental hurdles due to the surgery once he does return.

“I don’t think I’ll have any mental blocks or anything like that to overcome,” he said.

Muschamp reiterated Thursday that there is no exact timetable for Driskel’s possible return.

“I’m going to listen to our medical staff and let them guide me on how much he can do and how much work does he think he can handle,” Muschamp said. “Obviously, when he’s in the game, he’ll be with our first group. But I’ll listen to our medical staff as far as how much work they want him to partake in as we go through.

“They may walk in in three or four days and say he’s fine based on how he’s progressing right now. They may walk in and say it’s going to be six, seven more days. I don’t know. I’m just waiting on them to tell me.”

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